What's In Your Drink? The Straw That May Detect Date Rape Drugs

For three high schoolers, hearing about the risk of "date rape drugs" was the last straw...that led them to designing the first straw to detect common "date rape drugs." Victoria Roca, Susana Cappello and Carolina Baigorri, who attend Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami, designed a straw that includes two chemical test strips that turn navy blue if they come into contact with some substances frequently used for "drug-facilitated sexual assault." In other words, if your date offers you a drink, put the straw in the drink. If it turns blue, things may not be cool. Here's an Inside Edition report:

The current version of their straw can detect three substances that seem to be frequently utilized to disorient victims so that they can be taken advantage of or kidnapped (e.g., human trafficking). Unfortunately, there aren't reliable statistics on how often "date rape drugs" are used since many occurrences go unreported or even unknown by the victims. Each of the substances has a plethora of different nicknames. The first is flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), also called roofies, Forget Pills, Lunch Money, Mind Erasers, Rib, Roach, Rope, Ruffies, Trip-and-Fall and Whiteys. These can come as pills that are small, round or oval, and white or green-gray, and dissolve in liquids. People may also grind up the pills into a powder before dumping them in drinks. The onset of effects can occur within 30 minutes of ingestion and last for several hours. Symptoms include loss of muscle control, difficulty moving, feeling drunk, difficulty talking, nausea, upset stomach, confusion, vision problems, dizziness, sleepiness, loss of consciousness and, of course, the whole reason why some may give this to you, memory loss while drugged.

A second substance is ketamine, also known as Black Hole, Bump, Cat Valium, Green, Jet, K, K-Hole, Kit Kat, Psychedelic Heroin, Purple, Special K and Super Acid. In healthcare, ketamine can be very useful, such as serving as an anesthetic during or after surgeries and other procedures, or helping those with asthma or chronic obstructive airway disease. Special K acts within minutes of taking the drug. As the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) explains, on "the street," its form is usually a clear liquid and a white or off-white powder, typically packaged in small glass vials, small plastic bags, capsules, or paper, glassine or aluminum foil folds. The drug may lead to agitation, depression, difficulty thinking, loss of consciousness and, yes, of course, loss of memory. Hallucinations are also common. And there are even nicknames for the ketamine-induced trips that typically last 30 to 60 minutes and give you a feeling of disconnection and loss of control. There's “K-land” which the DEA describes as a "mellow and colorful experience," “K-hole,” which is an "out-of-body, near death experience," “Baby food,” which is "blissful, infantile inertia" and “God,” in which you think you have met your "maker."

The third substance is gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), also called liquid ecstasy, Easy Lay, Energy Drink, Great Hormones, Grievous Bodily Harm and Vita-G. This is the drug that actress Mischa Barton reported was found in her system when she checked into Cedars-Sinai Hospital after celebrating her 31st birthday this past January. Barton went to the hospital after noticing that her behavior was becoming erratic and, after the lab test in the hospital, suspected that someone had slipped GHB into one of her drinks. GHB comes as a liquid with no odor or color, a white powder or a pill. Since it may make your drink taste saltier, people may mix it with a sweet drink, such as fruit juice, to mask the change in taste. According to the DEA, people sell forms of GHB that are supposed to help build muscles, lose fat, treat baldness, improve eyesight, prevent aging, help depression, clean fish tanks, remove ink stains, clean ink cartridges and remove nail polish. The effects of the dug begin between 15 and 60 minutes after ingestion and can last up to six hours. GHB can lead to feeling euphoric, calm or more sexually aroused, becoming more passive and susceptible to influence, and failing to remember what happened while the drug is in your body.

Mischa Barton, seen here recently at the 70th Anniversary of the Cannes film festival, checked in to a hospital this past January and found out that GHB was in her system. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Straws may not be the only option available in the near future to detect such drugs in your drink. As Andrea Fox wrote for EfficientGov, different people are also working on nail polish, cups, coasters and other devices that are supposed to have chemical detection capabilities. Thus, you could eventually wear nail polish and subtly dip your finger into the drink. (A company called Undercover Colorsis trying to develop this option.) Or you may carry around a cup and insist that all drinks go into the cup. (DrinkSavvy is working on such as cup.) Of course, trying to shove a coaster into your drink may seem awkward, so the thought is that you would try to spill your drink onto the coaster. Keep in mind that as with all testing devices, errors can occur. It is not clear how often the device fails to detect a substance or falsely indicates that the substance is present. The substance may clump together and not be evenly distributed in the drink. (This may mean that you have to pour the entire drink on the coaster, which may be a bit obvious).